What have you set fire to whilst welding?

[Pete.]

Last weekend I was mig-welding some brackets and I happened to set fire to a bin (which was supposed to hold oil spill granules but had some discarded paper towel in it). No panic - I just up-ended the bin and out went the flames.

What's the worst welding fire you've ever had?

 

[Hitch]

Me personally, not quite welding, but caught some insulation on fire whilst cutting a hole through a building, double skin, filled ith rockwool type stuff, more smouldering and making a lot of smoke.


Couple of the lads i work with burned a printers to the ground a few years ago! :

 

[shenion]

Last week set fire to my jeans while using my plasma cutter. Never had a problem before, but had a rip across the knee. The frayed threads were like tinder. 2nd degree burn on my knee.

I did set fire to some leaves under my trailer.

 

[Pete.]

Me personally, not quite welding, but caught some insulation on fire whilst cutting a hole through a building, double skin, filled ith rockwool type stuff, more smouldering and making a lot of smoke.


Couple of the lads i work with burned a printers to the ground a few years ago! :

Do you mean that brown dense fibrous sheet matting they put betwen two touching walls? I've set fire to that three times, and it's the devil to put out. It can start from the tiniest grinder spark and doesn't burn but smoulders and spreads through even tight-packed gaps and generates a heck of a lot of heat. The only way I've found of being certain you've got it put out is to rake it out of the gap with a bar bent like a hook and have a hose running on it flat out.

 

[wyn]

Just the run of the mill..... rags, paper, the clothes i happened to be wearing....set fire to a parts washer with the sparks from a grinder once.

A firm i worked for, years ago, were doing some welding in the packaging part of a factory...lots of polystyrene......burnt the factory down. A couple of £M damage if i remember right.

 

[chrisg3103]

set fire to my crotch while gas welding at college

was doing some pipe welding thing and between welding and quenching in the water bucket some water got traped in the pipe. weld away and turn the pipe, water hits the red hot weld and jet of steam shoots out the end i drop it onto my lap and set the apron on fire! (sitting at the bench) luckly leather dosnt burn well so the apron was just a bit black once i had jumped up and booted said pipe excercise away

 

[Hitch]

Sounds like the stuff Pete!

 

[Iain Westland]

ice cream van a couple of years back, overalls on a regular basis, hair (now kept short on top) and a renault fuel pipe (actually that was my x business partner but it was very funny at the time)

Iain

 

[Hitch]

I like it when people get overalls smouldering, get the nearest water extinguisher and give em a good squirt

 

[Iain Westland]

I only ever knew when Alan started giggling. then it was my glove putting it out as " 'kin stinguishers are well spensiv"

 

[Hitch]

We have a few that are rechargeable, fill with water and pump up with an airline, (scrader valve?) same as car tyre.

 

[Iain Westland]

mine are CO2 x 7, Powder x 2 and an AFFF (Aqua fire fighting foam or A fa fa fire depending on who you ask) Auto work = oils and oil based fuels so water is a no no

Iain

 

[Iain Westland]

oh, and as near as damn it my b*ll end

 

[Tomlt]

Finally a thread I'm 100% qualified to reply on

I seem to be rather goood at setting things on fire whilst welding / grinding... even when I've made the effort to move the flammable stuff close by...


First time was when welding at a place I worked during the summers at an agricultural engineers. I was welding something up on the usual metal work/grinding bench, so kind person had deposited a disposable cup of thinners on the adjoining bench ( I thought it was a cup of water!) of course hot metal manages to roll across both benches, hits cup whilst I'm still welding away... about 30secs later when I finish welding and look up.... the whole bench infront of me is pretty much on fire with a thin layer of thinners rapdily burning off! Eeeek! Panic.... in the end it just burned itself out before I could get to an extinguisher... but woah, serious brown trouser moment. This was 4-5years ago now.

At the same place I also managed to set the crotch of my overalls and jeans on fire when tackling some heavy cutting with a 9" grinder....Ouch! Hot Hot Hot! You've never seen 18 stone move so fast!

I had a relatively uneventful few years thinking I'd learnt from my mistakes....

Then just recently I seem to lapsed, the other week I set the bin on fire in my garage which had been stuffed full of oily paper towel... thanks housemate!!!

But possible the best was a few weeks ago, I was cleaning off grease from some mild steel with brake/clutch cleaner before welding, I find it works a treat and evaporates instantly, I picked up the rag I was using for wiping which was slightly damp with brake cleaner to wipe off a joint I'd missed. Started short weld, 10-20secs lifted mask up to be greeted by flaming hands.... I'm not joking both hands were full engulfed in flames....well at this point what can you do? Panic? oh yes! I hopped around clapping for 10-20secs furiously patting flames out on alternate gloves. All much to the amusement of my housemate who was working at the other end of the garage... another small brown trouser moment but none the worse for it.

I think theres a lesson in there somewhere....flammable fluids and welding dont mix too well.

Tom.

 

[Robotstar5]

mine are CO2 x 7, Powder x 2 and an AFFF (Aqua fire fighting foam or A fa fa fire depending on who you ask) Auto work = oils and oil based fuels so water is a no no

Iain

Aqueous Film Forming Foam

 

[Iain Westland]

couldn't spell it,

 

[weldequip]

A fa fa FIRE! sounds better
weldequip

 

[migwig]

Ear hair, last weekend. Wife peed herself laughing.

 

[Paul.]

Some years ago, Dave a bloke I was working with was grinding, on the back of the bench was a plastic bottle of spirit based engineers blue, bottle explodes leaving a large area covered in blue ink including Dave, when he took his goggles off he has a blue face and white eyes.
Another favorite when we used to do a lot of arc welding using handshields was to rest the electrode holder in the mask and accidentally touch an aerosol of spatter release with the end of the electrode, they either explode or take off like missiles, sparks in cans of primer soon clear the shop as well,
Most annoying one was a bloke who set his overalls on fire, not really unusual, but why did the pillock have to do it whilst I was showing a fire brigade officer around on a yearly inspection.
Worst one I know was a panel beater mate who gas welded straight through a petrol pipe while doing a chassis repair, that was very serious, He spent quite a while in Stoke Mandeville Hospital having skin grafts to his arms face and chest, and lost one ear which was beyond repair, so be careful out there.

 

[Iain Westland]

Fuel n welding = notgoodmix

be careful out there ...

my fuel pipe. Spent a day arguing with Alan, just niggles but general i dont need you as i can do that. by 6pm i'm one up on him and its not to his liking and in walks this big bruiser type guy, needs a patch of welding and needs it 20 mins ago.

Alan jumps straight in with a 'yea, i'll do it' and a glare with 'I'll show you welding' written all over it fired off at me. The car gets put on the ramp and raised up. Alan sets about the preparation and as a help full sole I hang around putting plenty of pressure on him - you know, watching and sucking through teeth etc.

alls ready, we don helmets and get ready to go. too high a setting and speed too high spit spat prod and the angle all wrong. the wires bouncing all over the place and its nice and hot at the end bounces off the floor and straight through a fuel line.

bit of a dribble and a bit of fire, masks up and before I have a chance to panic, alan, with a big lung full of breath blows it out .... except all he managed to do was blow burning fuel all along the centre of the car, looked good if your of the 'look at that burning car' persuasion. I turn around to grab an extinguiser in time to see the big bloke running for all hes worth and crack up (athletics was not this mans forte) alan spins round to see why I am laughing and cracks too. felt like hours but prob about 10 secs start to finish.

Late finish that night but a good end to the day.

If I have to move my feet to get to an extinguisher when welding then its too far away, you never know what will catch.